Dressed in its handsome feathered suit, my screech owl becomes almost invisible sitting in the opening of its nest hole. Usually hidden away in the day, every night just as dusk approaches it sits in the opening before venturing out to hunt under the cover of dark.

My Certified Wildlife Habitat in rural Maryland provides food, cover, water and a place to raise young for this beautiful screech owl and many other fascinating wildlife. And food often abounds. Just as soon as the ice melts in spring my small backyard pond will swarm with a frenzy of wood frogs loudly calling for a mate. Thinking of nothing else, these quacking hormone-driven wood frogs are oblivious to the dangers of so vociferously calling as they float on the water surface. It is not uncommon for my screech owl to make a meal of a wood frog that is focused on nothing other than finding a mate.

As much as I love having screech owls in my Certified Wildlife Habitat, not all my local wildlife are as happy about it as I am. Even though the mating frogs ignore the screech owl at their own peril, some of the local chickadees and tufted titmice put up quite a fuss. They flit about the nest box while loudly screaming in alarm. The screech owl doesn’t seem to care much about the racket, and continues to slumber away at the bottom of its nest cavity.

I completed my habitat in 1997 and it was certified as No. 19,681 of the now more than 150,000 certified habitats. I’m sure many of the others who created a home for wildlife in their backyards also thrill at hearing the eerie sound of a screech owl calling in the night.

Help Owls Today

]]>http://blog.nwf.org/2014/02/habitat-for-screech-owls/feed/5How to Enjoy Owls in Winter (or Anytime)http://blog.nwf.org/2014/01/how-to-enjoy-owls-in-winter-or-anytime/
http://blog.nwf.org/2014/01/how-to-enjoy-owls-in-winter-or-anytime/#commentsWed, 29 Jan 2014 20:54:32 +0000http://blog.nwf.org/?p=91162Read more >]]>Owls have been in the spotlight recently, from the DC snowy owl to the Colbert Report. They are incredible and elusive creatures. Here are some ways you can experience and learn about owls first-hand this winter.

Go on an owl walk, or “owling.”

Winter is actually a great time to search for owls (as long as it’s not too cold). Most trees are without leaves, which makes it easier to see an owl’s silhouette. Dawn and dusk are good times to go, since there is a bit of light and the owls are more active (depending on the species and location).

Learn common owl calls.

Build an owl nesting box.

Welcome owls to your backyard with a nest box. Many owl species need to find a suitable nesting cavity in order to survive in an area. To make the nesting box safer and more suitable for owls, consider the following (adapted from our owl activity guide).

Wood is the best building material. Avoid using metal as it gets too hot when exposed to the sun.

Pay special attention to the size & height of the entrance hole, drainage for the bottom of the box, and ventilation.

Place the box where there is no danger of cats or other predators, and consider a tin guard for extra protection.

Don’t disturb the nest while the birds are in it.

Clean it out annually, when the birds are no longer occupying the box.

Provide a layer of nesting material (wood shavings, for example).

Make sure the box is at least 10 feet off the ground — 15-30 feet is ideal.

Attach the box to a tree, building or post.

National Wildlife Photo Contest entrant, Paul Bennett, put up a screech owl nest box on a pine tree just outside his bathroom window. These are a few of the visitors.

Visit a local nature or wildlife rehabilitation center.

Many wildlife rehabilitation centers have educational birds that were rescued, but wouldn’t survive in the wild. Resident educational birds are a fantastic way to experience owls up-close. I met Hazel at the Audubon Wildlife Care Center in Portland. I was also lucky enough to watch Julio (a female great horned owl) hoot! Nature centers often offer guided owl hikes or similar programs, browse some of your local nature sites to learn more.

Hazel is a northern spotted owl that was found on the ground, starving in Oregon in 2004. She never regained the ability to fly and now serves as an educational bird. Photo by Dani Tinker.

Read a book or watch a movie.

The snowy owl buzz has thrown Hedwig into the spotlight for Harry Potter fans, but there are other owl characters to enjoy. Who could forget Owl from Winnie the Pooh? And the movie Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole is a filled with owls. Check out this list of other fictional owl characters to enjoy when it’s cold and you’d rather curl up with a book or movie.

]]>http://blog.nwf.org/2014/01/how-to-enjoy-owls-in-winter-or-anytime/feed/9Thanksgiving Wishes to NWF Donorshttp://blog.nwf.org/2013/11/thanksgiving-wishes-to-nwf-donors/
http://blog.nwf.org/2013/11/thanksgiving-wishes-to-nwf-donors/#commentsFri, 22 Nov 2013 22:07:01 +0000http://blog.nwf.org/?p=88550Read more >]]>Every year around Thanksgiving,NWF staff members phone a selected list of individual donors to thank them for their generosity in supporting the Federation’s conservation work.

In making these calls, we touch base person-to-person with the people who make our work on behalf of wildlife possible, allowing NWF to protect species from bison to bears, whales to wolves, and to save habitat ranging from the Chesapeake Bay and Appalachian Mountains in the East to Pacific shores and Puget Sound in the West.

I’ve said it in previous blogs, but I’m going to say it again because it’s a vitally important point: About 75 percent of the money nonprofit organizations spend comes from individual donors—which is to say, in the Federation viewpoint, from people who sit down at home and write checks to NWF, or who give online or who join the NWF Wildlife Leaders Club by making monthly credit card donations. Individual donors are not just key components of the Federation’s conservation work, they are the basis of all that NWF accomplishes and hopes to accomplish.

You are More Than Just Donors

Each year, when I make my calls, I am impressed with the understanding and involvement of NWF donors.

One donor I talked with this year who really stood out for me was Joyce, a wildlife rehabilitator in West Allis, Wisconsin, who told me that earlier in the day, she had had to rescue a Cooper’s hawk that had crashed through a double-pane window in a private home, leaving a 12- to 15-inch hole in the glass. She turned the bird over to veterinary staff, who were checking it for injuries. It seemed likely to recover.

She also told me about a screech owl she had freed one time from a mouse sticky trap—a piece of heavy paper coated with a glue-like substance. Giving the owl its liberty was the work of minutes, but recovery of its feathers was a longer process. The mouse traps also had caught several sparrows. Joyce’s message: Don’t use sticky mouse traps outdoors, where they can capture nontarget species.

People like Joyce show that the commitment of NWF donors to wildlife is more than dollars deep, giving NWF staffers the gifts of inspiration and encouragement along with that of funding.

We can’t phone everyone on our donor list, which runs to thousands and thousands of people with a serious interest in wildlife, but with luck, our blogs can reach many more readers with a heartfelt thank you, and with wishes for a Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

]]>http://blog.nwf.org/2012/06/photo-of-the-day-what-are-you-looking-at/feed/0Kids Discover Nature with NWF’s Hike & Seek at Seneca Creek State Parkhttp://blog.nwf.org/2010/10/kids-discover-nature-with-hike-and-seek/
http://blog.nwf.org/2010/10/kids-discover-nature-with-hike-and-seek/#commentsTue, 05 Oct 2010 21:54:27 +0000http://blog.nwf.org/wildlifepromise/?p=5354Read more >]]>After three days of torrential rain, the bright morning sun was welcomed by NWF’s Hike & Seekers at Seneca Creek State Park on Saturday. The air was crisp and clean, perfect for a hike in the woods to discover the wonders Mother Nature had waiting for us.

Hikers Begin!

Families were warmly greeted by Ranger Rick and ushered to the registration area at base camp. By start time at 9 a.m. the kids anxiously awaited the go-ahead to begin their outdoor adventure. Armed with trail maps and nature guides we were off!

Shortly after crossing a bridge at the bottom of the hill, and checking for trolls, the kids made it to the first Stop and Study Station, where they learned all about trees and how to identify trees by their leaves. Stencils of various types of leaves and crayons gave kids the opportunity to create a colorful picture for the frig.

Then it was up a small hill but it didn’t seem to slow these enthusiastic nature hunters down. By now some of the babies in backpacks were settling in for their morning nap, rocked gently by mom or dad’s gentle footsteps over the trail.

Listening for Wildlife

“I think I just heard an owl” cried one girl, but as we rounded the corner we spotted the next Stop and Study station playing a recording of bird calls for the kids to match up with colorful pictures of local birds. The naturalist at the station reminded the kids that often we can’t see birds high in the branches but we can identify them by their call. So being quiet in the forest and listening can tell you a lot about the featured friends watching over you as you hike along.

As the kids wondered if we might see any lions or tigers or bears, a chipmunk scurried across the trail to excited screams and a conversation among the children focused on where he might be going. They all agreed he was probably looking for food and how he wouldn’t be disappointed in this beautiful park full of seeds and nuts and acorns.

Learning About Animal Tracks

The Animal Tracks Stop and Study station had the kids guessing what animals made which tracks drawn on large pieces of paper. The clues were really helpful and the naturalist as this station said you often won’t see an animal but can identify it by the tracks it makes in the dirt or mud.

The first clue with one track said it had a bushy tail and we all thought it must be a squirrel track, but after a few more clues we knew the answer was a red fox. I shared a story of how there is a family of red foxes living in a big forsythia hedge at the edge of my property. Every spring the mother fox brings her new kits out onto our lawn to give them a sun bath which they love.

Where Wildlife Meets Water

At this point on the trail we could see a shimmering blue lake ahead on the trail beckoning us to the Water Stop and Study Station. Here the kids learned how much water it takes to keep different species of wildlife alive and what a precious natural resource water is. While the kids fished for photographs of different aquatic wildlife, they talked to the fisherman throwing their lines into the lake from the shore. “Can you catch any sharks in this lake?” one little boy was heard asking. “Just some blue gills” was the reply.

Definitely a Dinosaur Bone…

The sun is now getting hot and everyone is shedding their jackets and sweatshirts as we head toward the home stretch. All of a sudden I heard a commotion ahead on the trail and found a group of kids hovering around a boy who found a bone on the trail. He was convinced it was a dinosaur bone, buried for millions of years, but the other children said it was more likely a rabbit bone, or maybe a chicken bone that fell out of someone’s lunch bag!

Nuts, Berries–or Children?

The last Stop and Study Station was just up ahead where the children learned all about what wildlife eats. They were happy to learn that almost no wildlife is interested in eating little children but would rather choose from the natural gourmet treats available throughout the park’s wooded areas.

Hiking to the Finish

We’re almost back to base camp where rumors of snacks and drinks being offered are spurring everyone on to the finish line. But the snacks played second fiddle to the amazing range of wildlife displays awaiting the kids at base camp.

Nothing like being up close and personal with a coral snake or baby alligator. The kids were entranced by the raptors provided by the Virginia Raptor Society; a screech owl, peregrine falcon, and an eagle. All the children agreed it would be very cool to have the x-ray vision these guys do at amazing distances.

The joy of seeing children discover nature’s gifts made this a very special day. And the fun of seeing families connecting with each other along the way made it an even happier occasion. Hike and seek and you will learn, laugh, and love being in the great outdoors!

Hike & Seek in Seattle October 16

National Wildlife Federation will be in Seattle’s Seward Park on October 16, 2010 for one last Hike & Seek event of the year.